Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed new laws to castrate pedophiles by chemical injection, according to news agency Ukrinform.
Under the new system, Ukrinform says pedophiles will undergo 'coercive chemical castration,' that 'involves the forced injection of anti-androgen drugs consisting of chemicals that should reduce libido and sexual activity'.
The news agency reported that a total of 247 MPs voted for the move at a parliament meeting on July 11th, 2019.
The law hopes to help improve how sexual abuse of kids is combated in the country.
It'll apply to all child rapes, including 'unnatural' rape and sexual abuse of children above and below the age of puberty.
Daria Lukyanenko. Credit: East2West News
Every year, the legislation will potentially apply to thousands of men aged 18-65 found guilty of raping or sexually abusing minors.
In 2017, there were 320 child rapes in Ukraine, although the numbers of pedophile sex abuse cases are thought to run into the thousands.
In a recent case in Odessa, an eleven-year-old girl called Daria Lukyanenko was killed after she tried to fight back against an alleged rape attempt by a family friend, 22-year-old Nikolay Tarasov.
Her body was discovered in a village cesspool after a six-day search.
A Ukrainian flag flying above the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. Credit: PA
Under these new laws, Ukraine also plans to set up a public register of pedophiles jailed for child rape and sexual abuse of minors, with such criminals being monitored for life by police after they're released from jail.
The maximum jail term for raping a kid has also been increased from 12 to 15 years.
Kazakhstan is another ex-Soviet state which permits the chemical castration of sex offenders, following a report that said child rapes doubled to about 1,000 a year in the period from 2010 to 2014.
While Ukraine didn't specify the chemical cocktail it'll use, Kazakhstan had purchased stocks of Cyproterone, a steroidal anti-androgen developed for fighting cancer, with doctors administering the injections.
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